USS Western Star

SS Western Star just after launching at the J. F. Duthie and Company shipyard in Seattle, Washington, on 4 July 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage.
History
United States
Name	USS Western Star
Builder	J. F. Duthie and Company, Seattle, Washington
Launched	4 July 1918
Completed	late August 1918
Acquired	28 August 1918
Commissioned	28 August 1918
Decommissioned	1 March 1919
Fate	Returned to U.S. Shipping Board 1 March 1919
Notes	Abandoned 1933
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	5,550 gross tons
Displacement	12,185 tons
Length	423 ft 9 in (129.16 m)
Beam	54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Draft	24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) (mean)
Depth	29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Propulsion	One 3,000-ihp (2.237-mW) steam engine, one shaft
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	98
Armament	none

USS Western Star (ID-4210) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

Construction and acquisition

SS Western Star was laid down as a steel-hulled, single-screw Design 1013 commercial cargo ship by J. F. Duthie and Company in Seattle, Washington, under a United States Shipping Board contract for the French Compagnie Générale. She was launched on 4 July 1918 and completed late in August 1918. Upon her completion, the Shipping Board transferred her immediately on 28 August 1918 to the U.S. Navy for use during World War I. The Navy assigned her the naval registry identification number 4210 and commissioned her at Seattle on 28 August 1918 as USS Western Star (ID-4210) under the command of Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Tull, USNRF.

Navy career

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Western Star departed Seattle and steamed to Union Bay, British Columbia, Canada, where she arrived on 5 September 1918. She loaded a cargo of coal and underwent a thorough search for bombs and other explosives before departing Union Bay on 15 September 1918 bound for Iquique, Chile. Arriving at Iquique on 13 October 1918, she unloaded her cargo, then moved to Caleta Buena, Chile, where she loaded a cargo of nitrates.

Departing Caleta Buena on 4 November 1918, Western Star steamed via the Panama Canal to Savannah, Georgia, arriving there on 5 December 1918. After unloading the nitrates there, she proceeded to Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, arriving on 31 December 1918.

Decommissioning and disposal

Western Star remained at Tompkinsville until 1 March 1919, when she was decommissioned and simultaneously transferred back to the U.S. Shipping Board.

Later career

Once again SS Western Star, the ship remained in Shipping Board custody until abandoned in 1933.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. Western Star (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Western Star (ID # 4210) in 1918-1919 at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2012-10-09)
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Western Star (ID 4210)